Internationalism at Wharton Global Youth: Belonging in a Diverse Team

Over two weeks, I took sixty pages of handwritten notes. I carried a cream-coloured notebook with me everywhere I went. Opening it, you would think it contained everything I had learned during the program. However, what was inside captured only a fraction of the knowledge I had acquired. In fact, the most valuable aspect of my education at Wharton wasn’t the university-level business concepts but the life skills I learned from spending time in the most international environment I have ever encountered.

The Essentials of Entrepreneurship program had one final project: pitching a startup. They divided the class of approximately seventy-five students into fifteen work groups. I was part of group fifteen. The four other team members I met became my family for the next two weeks. Maria came from Goiânia, Brazil; Arthur from London, UK; Brandon from New York, USA; and Hudson, originally from China, from Los Angeles, USA.

Entrepreneurship has always fascinated me; its almost artistic nature captivates me to explore.

We started discussing potential ideas for our startup on the very first day. We agreed on a software program and eventually settled on a concept. It was a social shopping platform, and we came up with the unique name “Agora.” Maria suggested the name. Coming from Brazil, she spoke Portuguese, and in Portuguese, agora means now. The name reflected our core values of efficiency and accessibility. As an international team, we united cultural insights as well as elements from our different languages.

Though constantly experiencing cultural differences, one trait united us: our hardworking nature. We came from different countries, backgrounds, and values. And despite that, everyone at Global Youth had an incredible work ethic.

My group experienced its first late-night study session at Huntsman Hall, a complex with endless group study rooms. Each room had a whiteboard, and we used ours to create a timeline of our workload. We set objectives that would guide us through the startup process. Without complaint, we completed our fair share of work and went beyond the program’s expectations. Even after returning to our dorms, I continued to work obsessively on our project until late into the night.

Through crafting our pitch, I developed core skills. I learned something from each team member: Hudson taught me how to calculate the TAM (total addressable market), SAM (serviceable attainable market), and SOM (serviceable obtainable market) of our industry. On Thursday before the pitch, Maria shared public speaking tricks she learned from Model UN in Brazil. Arthur expertly crafted pitch decks and showed us proper formatting. Brandon taught me software programs and websites I had never heard of before.

Aside from business, our team connected over dinners. One Wednesday evening, after a long workday, the five of us walked to a local food hall, across the street from The Wharton School. We ordered dinner and talked for over an hour, sharing stories from our hometowns.

Maria recounted a story of her trip to New York, where she saw snow for the first time. Living in Toronto, cold winters have always been a part of my yearly routine, and it was eye-opening to hear Maria’s experience. We discussed differences in public transportation systems. In New York, public transportation is relatively safe, in contrast to Brazil, where buses are at higher risk. In London, subways are a part of daily life and the stations are beautiful, whereas in our other cities, subways are rarer and much simpler. We talked about our region’s education systems, holidays, climate, and so much more. In this international environment, I felt free and heard like never before.

The day before the pitch, we faced a conflict. Our presentation had a limit of seven minutes, but when we timed it, it was seventeen minutes long! Each of us had different opinions on which slides to cut and how to condense our script. Ultimately, through communication, expression, and a bit of yelling, we found compromises that worked for all of us.

When the day of our pitch finally came, we agreed to meet at 8 a.m. for a few last-minute run-throughs. From hook to roadmap, the presentation is engraved in my memory. With input from every team member, the pitch combined parts of the world into a single, powerful entity of innovation and passion.

Standing alongside four team members, I met the gazes of dozens of students and judges from across the globe, so different, yet so similar. At that moment, I knew I belonged.

Two weeks passed as fast as the wind. Flying back to Toronto, I felt as though I was leaving home, leaving my family. Walking off the UPenn campus, I felt a gust of sentiment and unwavering love for my unforgettable experience. Yes, life continues, and the pang in my heart will pass, but what I learned and the people I met at Global Youth will continue to have an immeasurable impact on me forever. Without a doubt, I can say that at Wharton, I felt like the world was right there with me.